Priorities displaced

During college days, we had a "gang" and it seemed then that we would be inseparable. 'Inseparable' - in literal sense, which is to talk to each other everyday, meet atleast once in two days, get together in Adyar Bakery's Shakes & Creams - as usual - for the birthdays. And we always pooh-poohed when people said that practically, things wouldn't be the same in the future. "Just wait and see - we would prove we are different" - would be our retaliation. But whatever said and done, things *did* change. Now its only contacts thru' e-mails and meeting once in a year itself seems a distant reality.

I was fortunate to have a bigger gang during my post-graduation days when I moved to a different city! During first year, we used to long for the weekends but things changed upside down during second and third years where we used to hate the weekends since that meant 2 days without classes and all the fun associated with them. Again post-college, people got used with their routine and days together of not catching up with their once-upon-a-time "thick" brethern seemed absolutely fine. How many plans we devised then that we would decide upon a day every year and no matter where people are and how busy people are, we shall all re-unite. All those plans, sentimental talk seemed to have gone down the drain. A mail to the yahoogroup once in a blue moon brings so much happiness and considered a rarity!

Friends have got good jobs, handsome pays, some got married, children but yet when people talk about college life, a sense of nostalgia sinks in and everyone is so elated to talk about it, reminiscence those 'good old days' and long to get back there! Would I want to go back to those college days - having the same kind of fun with friends? ofcourse I would! So what is stopping me from doing it? Though everyone whom I speak to, longs for the same, no one wants to literally do it.

No love is lost amongst friends even today. Friendship is still at its best but the companionship...? the time spared for friends...? Even a trivial occasion during college days would've brought all of us together. Infact we just needed some silly reason to congregate. But now it seems tough to make it to even big occasions like marriages. Reason aplenty - tight deadlines, can't take off, have a kid at home - and maybe valid too and it also makes you relate more to the fact that "Change is the law of life"!